How People Move: Analyzing Travel of Vulnerable Populations in Los Angeles

Project Description

The costs and benefits of the transportation system are distributed unequally, leading to people receiving less access to opportunities. This report sought to understand how this issue plays out within Los Angeles County by analyzing trends in transportation patterns across race/ethnicity, income, gender, age, ability, and geography. This report used data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey California Add-On and 2013-2017 collision data from the UC Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System to report the number of trips and miles per day, transportation mode and purpose, and collision incidents for women and youth of color, Black people, people with disabilities, lower-income older adults, people living in families in poverty, and households living in priority population areas. We find similarities in the number of unlinked trips taken per day, but there are unique and diverging patterns in terms of average trip distances and duration. Women of color, Black people, and people living in priority population areas tended to have longer average trip distances. Meanwhile, the youth of color, people with disabilities, lower-income older adults, and people living in families in poverty had shorter average trip distances. All of these groups, except for women of color, traveled at slower average travel speeds than people overall in Los Angeles County, likely due to reliance on transit and walking. We also find significant differences in collision risks, especially by race and mode. Black people being overrepresented in collisions by every travel mode and walking in particular, and disparities extend to Black and Latino/a pedestrians. Overall, these trends highlight the need to make significant investments in transportation to ensure that the access benefits derived from the transportation system can fairly benefit everyone in LA County. The recommendations derived from this analysis are intended to help address transportation inequities in Los Angeles County and move towards a more equitable and justice-oriented future.